The Columbus journal., 1887-12-21

rested twenty armed men. In fine. this
plan of escape through q mountainous
and densely wooded country did not an
pear to me to be more dangerous than a
cavalry dash on the lines of the enemy's
commandments every day military
affair. Even il Mitchell did not prove TO
be in the neighborhood Of Bridgeport
when we arrived, we would then have
been in the loyal mountainous district
where we would have met as many friends
as foes. AL that we needed in the way of
provisions and guides our force would
have enabled us to command. ana even
guns ana ammunition could readily have
been gathered on our way.
But all these advantages depended on
our keeping together under one head. An
army scattered and disorganized is lost;
and our little army was nc exception.
The fatal command which Andrews now
gave as We were huddled together in the
wood box Of the tender was to jump off,
one by one, scatter in the woods. and each
man strive to make his W way back to
the Union army! We hesitated. but had
no concert Of action, no leader, no time
for council, and the instinct of obedience
vas still strong upon us; but it was a
fatal order, and led directly to the calami-
GiC tAl1O AAASlOA Lleu Us III
a moment from a formidable body of
picked soldiers, ready to fight to death,
into q scattered mass of fugitive BOYS, be-
wildered and hopeless in an enemy's
country.
Yet no one of us felt like censuring orr
leader for this order, which every one at
the moment believed to be a terrible mis-
take. Probably he thought that each
man Of the party would find relief in
being cast entirely on his "
1t must further be remembered, in ex-
PLANTATION of this mistaken order, that
Andrews had slept non the night before,
that he had been nearly t~wenty-fOur hours
without food, and that he had spent nearly
two days and a night in the most exhaust
ing labors, both mental and physical, that
it is possible to conceive. He had seen his
cherished plans, when on the brink Of sue
cess, o~verthrown by what seemed the re-
mOrseless hand Of destiny. To the many
failures and sorrows Of his past life had
been added the crOwning misfortune of
this defeat. Perhaps under his calm brow
he realized this with an intensity of
anguish, and felt that the greatest favor
he could do those he had led within sight
of u horrible death. and into the presence
of an enraged and triumphant foe, was to
separate them at once from his own dark
and Swallowed destiny. If SO, that was
the most fearful mistake of all; ana rs this
order was given, we could almost. as We
looked southwark through the driving
rain and the storm clouds, behold already
the dark outline Of the Atlanta scaffOlds!
1t was pitiful. The General had served
lis well ever since the morning hour in
fearful speed and patient waiting, in eX-
ulting raptures and i'll almost despair. 1t
was hard to abandon her now. She was
substantially uninjured. The engineers,
Brown and Knight, had taken good care
of her, and with wood and oil in abund-
ance, there would have been no difficulty
on her part in completing the run 20
Huntsville. She was still jogging along
at h e rate of eight or ten miles an hour,
and could maintain that pace a little
longer. The pursuers hal also diminished
their speed, so as to just keep us in sight,
having apparently no wish to press upon
what may have seemed to them like q
wounded and dying lion. The command
to Jump off n scatter" was repeated
with the injunction to be quick about it.
as the engineer wished to reverse the ell
CINE and drive it back upon the enemy.
With such a reason there could be no
more hesitation. 1t is said that some
three or four had already got off at the
first word of commando; but the most of
us had hesitated, not on account of the
still rapid motion of the train, but in the
idle hope that in some way this terrible
parting might be averted. Now one
after another clambered down n the step
and swung off. i was neither among
the first nor the last, and jumping unskill-
fully out from the step, instead of for
ward, whirled over and over on hands and
feet for several revolutions. Rising in a
dazed condition, though unhurt, with the
exception Of a few scratches from the
briers with which the place %abOunded, l
looked over the animated scene with the
deepest interest. The men who Jumped
off were, according to instructiOnsj flying
in different directions, a few othcAs We're
just coming off the engine in much the
same way that l had done, while the en-
gineers were attempting to carry out thei::
scheme of reversing the engine, which
could do 70 good now, except possibly TO